Bed construction



1957 A. L. FREEDLANDER 2,775,775

BED CONSTRUCTION Filed July 26, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. g5 S A.L.FREEDLANDER 2| 4;

United States Patent BED CONSTRUCTION Abraham Lincoln Freedlander,Dayton, Ohio, assignor to The Dayton Rubber Company, a corporation ofOhio Application July 26, 1951, Serial No. 238,619

7 Claims. (Cl. -210) The present invention relates to improvements infurniture construction particularly as applied to beds, sofas, chairs,and other articles of furnture used for supporting sitting or recliningpersons.

In the type of furniture products referred to, the seated or recumbentbody is supported upon a horizontal supporting member or platform whichin turn is supported by legs or other vertical members at the desiredheight. Such horizontal supporting members are usually rigidly attachedto the vertical members by being formed integrally therewith or beinggrooved, bolted, screwed, or detachably clamped thereto.

In the case of beds for example, a horizontal platform for supportingthe body is usually in the form of the combination of a mattress andspring which are generally supported upon bedrails by slats or othersupporting members, the rails in turn being attached to posts of thebedstead or to head and tailboards of the bed or the like.

In these types of construction the points where the horizontal membersattach to the vertical members are subjected to strain and aftercontinued use the joints squeak and crack and become noisy in use. Atthe same time structural stresses develop which may ultimately result inbreakage and necessitate repair or replacement. Furthermore, the rigidtype of supports required: are not resilient and become uncomfortable inuse or require the provision of added cushioning material.

In accordance with the present invention a supporting structure isprovided for the horizontal body supporting members of articles offurniture of the type described herein which will obviate thedisadvantages of the prior art. The novel supporting structure referredto is strong, noiseless, flexible and resilient and will function overlong periods of time without loosening or developing the internalstresses and strains which occur in conventional constructions.

Applicant has discovered that by supporting the horizontal platformmember of an article of furniture, such as a bed, chair, sofa, or thelike, upon rubber members which are mounted in a manner which willcompletely separate the horizontal platform from the vertical supportand where such rubber members are mounted in vertical shear, a resilientand durable supporting structure will result which will provide acushioning effect while at the same time eliminating any tendency todevelop strain and noises in use. In applicants copending application,Serial No. 238,618 filed of even date herewith, and entitled ImprovedFurniture Construction, there is disclosed a construction in whichtransverse or horizontal supporting members for bed springs, mattresses,and the like are attached to vertical supports by conventional means,but these transverse members have mounted theron such rubber memberswhich in turn support the horizontal body supporting members, such assprings and mattresses. In the present invention, which is a modifiedform of that described in my copending application aforesaid, thetransverse members, such as bedrails or the like, are attached to thevertical members directly through 2 means of such rubber members whichare attached to said vertical members. When rubber is stressed in sheargreater resilience under a given load is permitted than when stressed incompression alone. When utilized in the manner described herein, rubberin shear provides a high degree of resilience while at the same timeabsorbing or dampening vibrations and stresses developed in use. Thisadded resilience contributes to a high degree to greater comfort anddurability, eliminating weaknesses and noise which develop in joints.The rubber in shear construction is ordinarily fabricated by forming asandwich of a relatively thin rubber portion adhered or bonded betweenmetal members. These sandwiches may be between fiat metal members orrectangular or other desired shape or by placing the rubber betweenconcentric cylinders or other shaped members. The rubber is bonded tothe metal by first plating the metal surface with brass followed byvulcanization of the rubber in contact with the plated surface underheat and pressure. In lieu of brass plating, suitable rubber-to-metaladhesives, such as chlorinated rubber in a solvent, or the like, may beused.

Natural rubber as well as the synthetic rubber-like materials may beused. Among the synthetic rubbers, GR-S (bntadiene-styrene copolymer)and GR-A (butadieneacrylic nitrile copolymer) are the most commonlyused.

The present invention will be described with particular reference to abed although the principles hereof are also applicable to other articlesof furniture.

Reference is made to the accompanying drawings for a more detaileddescription of the invention.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a view in elevation illustrating the head and tailboard of abed having side rails'attached to the bed by means of supporting membersin accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged view of a portion of Figure 1 illustrating themanner by which a bedrail is attached to the supporting member and tothe bed.

Figure 3 illustrates 'an enlarged elevational view of an alternativemanner of attaching a bedrail to a bed.

Figure 4 illustrates in partial cross section still another bedrailsupportingconstmction.

Figure 5 illustrates a view in elevation of still another bedrailsupporting structure.

Figure 1 illustrates a manner in which a pair of side bedrails 12 and 13are attached to headboard 10 and tail board 11 of a bed. Novelsupporting members of the present invention are shown as 14. Thesesupporting members are formed by sandwiching rubber member 20 betweensteel plate members 18 and 19, member 19 being attached to the headboardby screws or otherwise in the manner shown in Figure 2. Plate member 18has attached thereto a pair of spaced, parallel vertical members 15 and15a between which are welded or otherwise secured parallel horizontalpins 16 and 17. Bedrail 12 is attached to the supporting member by meansof a metal projection 21 formed with teeth 22 and 22a designed to engagepins 16 and 17 to provide a detachable support for the bedrail. In thismanner the bedrails are completely separated from the head andtailboards of the bed by means of cushioning member 20 which is placedin shear by the application of a load to the rails. This provides aresilient and noiseless support for the spring and mattress and removesthe strain which would otherwise be created at the point of support.

Figure 3 illustrates an alternative supporting means in which rubbercushioning member 29 is sandwiched between metal plates 27 and 28, thelatter being afiixed to the leg of the headboard 10a. Horizontallydisposed member 26 is welded to plate 27, this member projectinghorizontally beyond cushioning member 29. At the end of member 26 asocket is formed for supporting the bedrail by means of vertical plates23a and 23b with spaced pins 24 being positioned therebetween in themanner shown. These pins are designed to support toothed member 25 whichis attached to bedrail 12a. The provision of this form of supportingmember creates a vertical shear in cushioning member 29 resulting fromthe rotational effect imparted to the member 26. The spring and mattressare supported on the bedrail by horizontal member 30 which is attachedthereto through horizontal slats utilized in a conventional manner.

Figure 4 illustrates still another type of support for attaching abedrail to a bedpost or headboard or the like. In this type of supportbedrail 12b has attached thereto a detachable member 31 which terminatesin a tapered vertical pin 32. This pin fits into a socket formed bymember 33 which is concentric with cylindrical member 34. Between theconcentric members is adhered rubber cushioning member 35 which in turnis welded or otherwise affixed to plate 36 which is screwed to a bedpostor headboard 10b. Application of a load to the bedrail is transmittedthrough pin 32 to the cushioning member 35 which is thereby placed invertical shear.

Still another form of the invention is illustrated in Figure in whichbedrail 120 has attached thereto a toothed supporting member 37 engagingpins 39 and 40 which project from member 38. A resilient supportingmember for the bedrailis formed by adhering a cushioning rubber member44 in the form of a cylindrical sleeve between horizontal shaft 42 andsleeve 43, the latter being welded to plate 41 which in turn is attachedto bedpost or headboard 100. The application of a load to the bedrailcreates vertical compression and radial stress on the cushioning memberapplied axially thereof.

I claim:

1. In a bed including end members and a pair of longitudinally extendinghorizontal rails for supporting a spring and mattress; that improvementcomprising resilient supporting means mounted on said end members forholding said rails in laterally spaced relationship, said meansincluding spaced portions extending therefrom for supporting said rails,said portions separated from each other by rubber cushioning materialbonded thereto, one of said portions attached to an end member and theother supporting one of said rails in shear and providing completelyresilient relationship of said rail with said end member.

2. A bed construction according to claim 1 in which said spaced portionsare metal plates.

3. A bed construction according to claim 2 wherein the rubber cushioningmaterial is in the form of a Hat sheet and the metal members are in theform of metal plates.

4. A bed construction according to claim 1 wherein the rubber cushioningmaterial is composed of a rubber member bonded between metal plates, oneof which is secured to the end member and the other including an armfastened thereto and extending beyond the cushioning material in thesame plane, said arm supporting the rail to place the rubber cushioningmaterial in vertical and torsional shear under load.

5. A bed construction according to claim 1 wherein the cushioningmaterial is composed of a cylindrical rubber sleeve bonded betweenconcentric metal sleeves, the outer of said sleeves attached to the endmember and the inner of said metal sleeves forming a socket for thereception of a rail support.

6. A bed construction according to claim 5 wherein the cylindricalcushioning material is mounted vertically.

7. A bed construction according to claim 1 wherein the rubber cushioningmaterial is composed of a horizontally disposed rubber cylindersurrounded by a metal sleeve which is attached to the end member andhaving a shaft extending axially thereof and projecting beyond saidsleeve and supporting said rail, said rubber cylinder being bondedbetween the outer sleeve and the shaft and being subjected to torsionalstress upon the application of a load to the rail.

References Cited in the file -of this'patent UNITED STATES PATENTS97,619 Dugan Dec. 7, 1869 622,889 Forsyth Apr. 11, 1899 792,128I-Iaverstick June 13, 1905 1,046,358 Wilson Dec. 3, 1912 1,811,923Flinterman June 30, 1931 1,937,581 Lord Dec. 5, 1933 2,225,858 ChurchDec. 24, 1940 2,248,869 Harwiek July 8, 1941 2,257,804 Lord Oct. 7, 19412,631,648 Tatom Mar. 17, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 241,462 Great Britain Oct.25, 1922

